Into the woods

I'll be mountain biking soon, up Cold Stream Canyon, solo, 100oz. of water and we'll see where it leads me. Two days ago, I went to Tahoe City to ride the Nordic Center trails. After my normal, woop de doo loop with 15 or so fun rollers and nice single track banked turns, I saw a previously undiscovered singe track veering right. It was less traveled with richer, firmer dirt and new growth that scraps your calves as you pedal by. I then proceeded further right and back up the mountain on a trail that snaked alongside, and over a stream that completely altered the landscape. The tall, lush grasses, and plump wildflowers accenting the other wise green hued marshy field were a pleasant contrast to the dry alpine manzanita and pine forest. Two bleached, brittle, skeleton pines stood tall, bright white against the deep blue sky and alive landscape. Good ride. Held on during the gravel decent and had flashbacks of wiping out in 2000. Back when I worked at Cyclepaths and Jiffy's cruised with Mark most days, was living at Bill's house, petsitting tuco, and I was not yet graduated from College. Perhaps a little reckless, leaving Middlebury College in the spring of my senior year, but a good decision, nonetheless, growing and digressing in Tahoe. I still remember my first views of Desolation's white peaks upon ascending Mt. Rose Highway, and the lake, relaxing below, so big and clear, like a utopic paradise. And this is probably why everyone comes to Tahoe on the weekend, pulled by Big Blue, to experience her bliss, and yet somehow they stay seperate and evermindfully still at home, in the bay. I find it interesting that people become so comfortable with the same experience, especially when on holiday, "getting away" and they choose to maintain the same habits, as they would at home. And I think, this is largely because the Tahoe area is not trying to display anything differrent than what is anywhere else, except of course, what is mostly not of human doing; the lakes, rivers, forests, and rocks. What I am saying is that, Tahoe is special. It is different than anytown USA, and yet apart from the playful surroundings, the town supports the tourist in is tourist tendencies, and does not present itself as anything other than anytown, USA. We are not really deeply embedding our guests in the ecosystem and importance of this gem. Tahoe, than is just a place among places, offering nothing more than what you brought- an airconditioned view of the Sierras via your landcrusier, your boat, and your toys, and a nice meal and lots of booze. It sounds alot like a numbing, and perhaps that's why they say "escape to the mountains." And I know that this is not every Tahoe tourist, and I know that there are people who come for its amazing trails, and pristine waters, and those who truly support the healing and protection of the Basin, but this overwhelming feeling of disregard for this delicate place, is evident in the goods and services that become town priority. And these, for most locals, are the dense filter we must look through everyday to actually feel the spirit and wildness that is Tahoe. And when I see the true essence of Tahoe, I have striped it naked of its human sculpting. And this saddens me. How do we continue on, zombies in the wake of the human experience that is so destructive and yet wildly seductive that success is measured by how much green stuff hangs out of your wallet? I feel so betrayed by the lie that is lived everyday. I see a slow awakening towards a resource regenerative society, and yet in its patience for policy and greed, I see a slow dying of the earth that is us and sustains us. And a dying that may not rebirth that which we need to survive. Strip away all that is not survival, learn where your food is produced, how the water finds its way to your tap, the value of waste, the things you buy and in what capacity is their necessity? What would be your perfect day and how many things would you need? Are you really that desensitized by your abundance? When we seperate ourselves from the things we hook onto us, that somehow define us, when we pull the filters away and experience life as a spirutal quest of love, our true essence can be felt and seen, and ourbehaviors will be a reflection of that core understanding of the human experience. It is not things, it is relationships, giving, receiving. It is the abilbity to coexist in nature, not to have dominion over, not to destroy ourselves, the earth, but to be love, to laugh, and be noursished, to feel and be heard to listen and grow, to live fully, uncloaked by greed and material possesions that only serve to plug the channels that are otherwise open without effort. And up coldstream to ground and clear the cobwebs out, to honor Lua on her birthday, to celebrate her life tonight, and continue to carry her firefly spirit with us.